Devotional
When "Better Days" Aren't Ahead: Five Lessons of Life-Giving Hope
Many of us look around at our society and feel like Habakkuk could have been writing about today. Destruction is abundant. Optimism is in short supply.
But Habakkuk didn’t let the darkness surrounding him crush his spirit; neither did he shrug it off with vain platitudes about “better days ahead.” He looked destruction straight in the eye and still had the strength to say, “I will take joy.” That’s life-giving hope.
The Right Kind of Prosperity Gospel
I believe in a sort of Prosperity Gospel: It's just the prosperity of God’s kingdom, not my own. God has made huge promises to us in Scripture, but those promises are always tied to his mission. God wants to do more in your life than you can imagine—yes, even Solomonic-level impact—but first you must put yourself in a position to receive it.
The Danger of Blind Spots: How Could Christians Ever Support Slavery?
Our Christian forebears were fallible men and women, but so are we. And we fool ourselves to simply assume that we would have had the courage to act differently when every societal pressure was pushing one direction. They had blind spots which we see clearly now. But we too have blind spots that our children and grandchildren will speak of with shame.
Serious Injustice Calls for Serious Repentance
I can talk all day long about moral corruption “out there.” Hollywood, Planned Parenthood, extremist terrorists (just to get started). And I could get a lot of “Amens!” for it.
What happens when the spotlight turns on us? We love talking about the sins of others, but how many of "the world's" sins do we see replicated in the church?
If You Don't Care for the Poor, You Don't Understand the Gospel
I wonder if God would look at us today and say, Woe to you who are at ease in the church! I hate, I despise your church services. I take no delight in hearing your sermons. Though you offer me a moving experience of worship music, I won’t accept it. If we’re busier playing church than we are getting our hands dirty for the poor, that verdict is entirely possible.
Marriage Is Not About You; Divorce Is All About You
Divorce is not usually the problem. It’s the fruit of the problem; the root is a life that is self-centered. The problem is that people go into marriage looking for someone to complete them or make them happy, and when their spouse quits doing that or gets difficult to live with or they meet someone they think might do it better for them, they get divorced.
About J.D. Greear
J.D. Greear is the pastor of The Summit Church in Raleigh-Durham, NC and author of several books including Gaining by Losing: Why the Future Belongs to Churches That Send.